Microsoft acquires Obsidian Entertainment

Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behind Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, Pillars of Eternity and other role-playing games, is joining Microsoft’s stable of studios.

Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Obsidian today at its X018 event in Mexico City.

Microsoft has been on a studio spending spree this year. At E3 2018, Xbox chief Phil Spencer announced that the company had acquired four studios: Ninja Theory (Hellblade, DmC), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Undead Labs (State of Decay) and Compulsion Games (Contrast, We Happy Few). Microsoft also established a new internal studio, The Initiative, led by the former studio head at Crystal Dynamics. The addition of Obsidian will bring some valuable RPG know-how to Microsoft’s studio lineup.

It’s unclear how the acquisition will affect Obsidian’s untitled RPG, which is being led by Fallout co-creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky and is in development at Take-Two’s Private Division label.

Update: A representative for Private Division reached out to Polygon with the following statement:

We look forward to publishing the upcoming RPG from Obsidian Entertainment. We’re excited to share more about the game in the near future.

Obsidian Entertainment was founded in 2003 by former members of Black Isle Studios (Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale). The studio is located in Irvine, California.